Truck jackknifes after I-65 collision, injuring 2

MOBILE, Ala. -- A car and an tractor-trailer rig collided in the northbound lanes of Interstate 65 this morning, injuring two people, blocking the road and damaging the freeway overpass above Government Blvd., Mobile police said.

Spokesman Officer Christopher Levy said the truck driver, a 58-year-old man from Wilmer, and a 52-year-old Axis woman driving a Lincoln Town Car, were taken to University of South Alabama Medical Center.

The Town Car was entering the northbound lanes of I-65 about 10:10 a.m. when it collided with the truck, Levy said. The truck went into against the right retaining wall of the overpass, knocking about 15 feet of it down onto the eastbound lanes of Government Boulevard, Levy said.

The truck then jackknifed and slid along four lanes of traffic, blocking the interstate for much of midday, Levy said. The falling debris did not hit any cars or injure anyone on Government Boulevard, he said.

The Alabama Department of Transportation said it installed a temporary retaining wall at the site of the break on the overpass, and traffic was moving through the area by late afternoon with no slowdowns or lane closures.